View from the Cheap Seats is kind of an extension of the newsroom. Whenever our three regular reporters, Calvin Daniels, Thom Barker and Kelly Friesen are in the building together, it is frequently a site of heated debate. This week: Who will win the Grey Cup.
Riders
I had a feeling Sunday morning that the Hamilton Tiger Cats would knock off the defending Grey Cup champions. I was not nearly so sure about the Roughriders-Stampeders game.
I have said all along, though, that whoever won the West Final, would prevail on November 24. In recent years there has been at least one team in the East that can stand with the West, but that was not the case this year. B.C., Saskatchewan and Calgary were all better than any of the eastern offerings, and the Stamps were the class of the league all year.
But we beat them, in Calgary, and, although the Stampeders made a bit of a stand in the third quarter, it wasn't even close. The Riders on Sunday looked like the team of destiny, firing on all cylinders.
Of course, as they say, anything can happen on "any given Sunday." In that respect, I don't think we could possibly ask for a better scenario for the 101st national championship.
It's a homecoming for some familiar faces, not the least of which is the great Kent Austin, who engineered two of Saskatchewan's three Grey Cup wins as quarterback in 1989 against the Cats and as coach in 2007.
I think it's going to be a close one with the Riders edging Hamilton 25-23.
And please, people, when we hoist the trophy this weekend, can we please, finally, get off Darian Durant's back? He's a great quarterback.
-Thom Barker
Riders
The odds are without a doubt in the Saskatchewan Roughriders' favour to win the Grey Cup. They not only are coming off one of their best games on the year in the West Final against the Calgary Stampeders, but they also will have home-field advantage on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
However, like the West final against Calgary, turnovers could dictate who wins the Grey Cup. If either Henry Burris or Darian Durant throws too many passes to the other team, it could seal their respective teams' fate. In addition, the same can be said about the running backs, Riders' Kory Sheets and Tiger-Cats' C. J. Gable, for fumbles.
That said, I'm banking on a couple off-target Burris passes being the difference in the game. He was prone to make some questionable tosses in the regular season to say the least as he threw 19 interceptions. With a strong pass rush and a loud crowd, the Riders should be able to force a couple big picks.
Sheets' and Durant's legs are the other key component to the Riders capturing the win. If they can generate consistency on the ground, it will lead to several long drives that should result in touchdowns. Not to mention, it will keep the Tiger-Cats preoccupied closer to the line of scrimmage which will ultimately be a double-edged sword because it will open up passes for Durant down field.
Prediction: Roughriders 35 Tiger-Cats 27.
-Kelly Friesen
Riders
The stage is set to write another epic chapter in the long history of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
But whether it will be a chapter of tragedy or ecstasy us yet to be determined.
The 'Riders earned their berth in the Grey Cup this Sunday with an impressive win over Calgary. They thwarted a solid Stampeder offence in their own stadium and played ball-hawk football on defence for what ended up a lopsided win 35-13.
So the Roughriders, a team built for the Grey Cup Saskatchewan will host this week, have made it to the final dance.
They face Hamilton, a dark horse from the east, having upset the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts in TO in the Eastern Final 36-24.
If you were writing a villain for the Grey Cup script, it would be the TiCats, at least from the Saskatchewan perspective.
Hamilton coach Kent Austin was a one-time 'Rider saviour, and later a man known for abandoning the team.
Quarterback Henry Burris was once cheered in green and white and now jeered as a former Roughie.
Ditto receiver Andy Fantuz, a star that ran east in free agency.
That trio could drive a stake into our collective hearts Sunday, especially given the Roughrider's penchant for losing in unbelievable ways.
It's not hard for our darkest dreams to foresee Burris throwing a hail Mary pass to Fantuz on the final play to snatch victory from the 'Riders. It would be the way things go for us.
But somehow, deep down inside, I dare to believe this is our year. It is the Grey Cup we will hold in our hearts for years to come, as we realize Darian Durant, while not Ron Lancaster, truly is an elite, big game QB, that our defence is solid as the Great Wall when it needs to be, and while Kory Sheets may never be George Reed, he is a top back fielder.
The 'Riders win by 15.
-Calvin Daniels
